Update: It’s been two months…

Hi guys! Seriously sorry for the lack of updates. I know being busy shouldn’t be an excuse…but I really have been super busy. I decided to renew my contract at my school for a second year, so hopefully this year I will be more consistent with posting. At first I was doing cooking posts (then I got busy), then I was doing makeup reviews (then I got busy), and finally some guides (and then I ran out of ideas. Seriously guys, tell me what you want to know about).

Anyway, so the reason for my absence for the past two months or so is…Korean Classes. I registered for the KIIP Government Program Class. It’s three times a week (10 hours per week, 100 hours total). It’s a super intense course, and their are 5 levels, at the end you can obtain points towards your Visa so you can become a resident. There are a lot of pros to this, and it’s very difficult to obtain…however, I already have a F4 Visa since I’m of Korean descent, so I’m taking the class why? Because it’s free! The private academy I was going to (while very good) was about $200 per month, and it was 4 hours per week. While this KIIP Program is very difficult (it is designed to help foreigners assimilate into Korean Culture), I feel that I am learning a lot. I actually love learning, if I could make being a student a career…I definitely would.

I placed into Level 3 last semester, so I took that level and completed it within three months. I passed the Level Test and now I’m in Level 4. Fortunately, both times I was able to select Ewha University, which is on the same subway line near my apartment, it’s about 18 minutes away. It really takes a lot out of me, and the teacher is super intimidating this semester, but I hope I improve a lot. Besides that, I’ve picked up some freelancing work! So if you guys have any graphic design needs…contact me haha. I also went home for a short two weeks, and it involved a very long delay with China Airlines. I didn’t get to see all of my friends and family, but it was so hard to say goodbye this time.

The semester things have changed a lot at my school. They replaced the staff in the Administrator’s Office, and two of my co-teachers changed. My main co-teacher Sookyung took maternity leave for another semester, so there’s a different contract teacher. And then the one contract teacher for 3rd and 4th grade left, she was replaced by  another subject teacher. She can’t speak English very well, and it’s her first time teaching it this semester. Honestly, the 6th Grade Contract Teacher hasn’t taught English before either, so these days I feel like I’m the main teacher. It’s stressful…but they’re very kind, and they work hard.

I get a pay raise at the end of this month, so I’m hoping I can save a bit more. I’m hoping to travel to Taipei in the Spring, but we’ll see if that happens. I’m going to try to post more consistently! Until next time guys~

One thought on “Update: It’s been two months…

  1. Annemone says:

    Sounds like you’ve had a lot of changes going into your 2nd year – but it also sounds like you’re coping with them really well! 🙂

    And thanks for the tip about the KIIP program! Do you have to know basic Korean 101 (hello, my name is, etc) to apply for those classes, or do they start at the beginning?

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